A Collection of NarutoxSasuke One-Shots
by TheFemaleReviewer
Summary: Just as the title suggests, this story isn't just one but a FULL collection of all the NaruSasu shorts I've written the past year and scrapped or never finished. Now, they're revamped and ready to read JUST FOR YOU! Don't forget to favorite this story so that you'll get a notification because I'll probably CONSTANTLY be adding more rewritten shorts to this collection. Dig in!
1. The Story of the Ninja Wolves

Behind the Text (My Reason For Writing This): Initially, I just wanted to do a story that would have something to do with puberty since I never have before and Naruto and Sasuke are around that age anyway, so why not? Also, at first, I meant to make Sasuke the pursuer but I honestly can't think of a way to do that without making him OOC so... yeah. Instead, we have this. Lol.

**The Story of the Ninja Wolves**

An owl hooted over-head, pausing momentarily to dive for a snake which then slithered into a ground hole. A couple wolves ran past the hole, running deep into the dark, winding trees until they came to the edge of a cliff, like brothers they all hung together, turned their noses up to the moon and howled.

A couple of miles below the cliff, a boy jumped.

"Did anyone hear that?"

The other boy, one with dark hair, rolled his eyes.

"It was just a stupid wolf."

The first boy tugged on the green vest of an older man walking next to him.

"Wolves kill people, right?" he questioned.

The girl on his other side flexed her bicep and squeezed her hand over it.

"Relax, Naruto! We're ninja, remember? Wolves aren't going to mess with us."

The man walking flicked his eyebrows up.

"Actually... That's not completely true." He said.

They paused in the middle of a meadow, sparkling with the navy blue hue of dusk.

"Really?!" the boy named Naruto asked, eyes wide.

The man winked at him.

"If you guys set up camp quickly, I'll tell you a story about it."

"Come on, Sasuke, Sakura!" Naruto yelled, grabbing them.

"Stop pushing me." Sasuke complained.

"I wanna hear Kakashi Sensei's story! Come on!"

Tools were pulled out of backpacks, sleeping bags were rolled onto the ground and wood was collected for a fire.

"Ahhh... I just realized something." Naruto mumbled, scratching his hair.

"Hmmm?" Kakashi asked.

"I forgot my sleeping bag."

Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Naruto, you're going to have to be more responsible than that if you hope to become a good ninja."

Naruto just scratched his blonde hair sheepishly.

"Share with Sasuke for now." Kakashi told him.

Sasuke's face broke out into one of complete discontent.

"What?!" he began. "Why do _I_ have to-"

"Stop complaining, Sasuke, or else I won't tell the story." Kakashi ordered.

Sasuke crossed his arms and looked away from them.

"'Tch." He muttered. "I don't even care about the stupid story."

His actions were very similar to a teen boy who was told he couldn't go out with his friends and instead had to babysit his kid brother. But still, he got down on his knees and zipped his dark blue sleeping back open so that it lay flat like a long sheet instead of folded over. He and Naruto lay on their stomachs on it next to the fire opposite Sakura.

Crickets chirped. The sounds of the dark forest surrounding them were loud in their ears. Kakashi narrowed his eyes at them like it was time for a blood chilling story.

**Naruto**

I propped myself up on my elbows while Kakashi started to speak.

"Wolves, just like dogs, are pretty harmless... Unless they're ninja wolves." Kakashi began. "More than a hundred years ago, wolves used to be summoning animals. Ninjas across the land put spells on the wolves so that they could speak and understand human languages just like the toads, dogs and snakes of today. The wolves were smart... But a bit _too_ smart..."

I glanced at Sasuke. He had his head down on the bag seemingly not paying any attention at all.

_Look at this guy... So arrogant..._

But the longer I stared at him, the less I cared about hearing the story. He had this scent. A soapy kind of smell. Being so close to him, I couldn't help but notice it.

"They had a mind of their own, these wolves. They only served ninjas that they bonded with on a deep emotional level. And they tortured all the others, slowly tricking them all to their deaths. Every ninja who encounters a ninja wolf and does not bond with him is engrained into the wolf's memory forever... And he'll hunt you down until the day he finally catches you and... _Slashes_ you!"

I jumped a mile and Sakura screamed. Sasuke, however, didn't even move.

_Probably sleeping..._

"They'll tear you to pieces within a second." Kakashi said airily. "There's only one trick to get them off you..."

Kakashi continued talking. Sasuke shifted and turned his head. He faced me but his eyes were closed. I tried glancing at him discretely.

_What's this guy thinking about anyway?_

Suddenly, a wolf howled loudly, as though only a couple of feet away from us. Sakura screamed. I jumped. Sasuke's eyes popped open.

"They heard the story! They're coming to eat us!" Sakura exclaimed.

Kakashi laughed.

"Don't worry, guys." He reassured. "Like I said, wolves have been banned as contract summoning animals since before even the 3rd Hokage was born and all the others have long since been slain. There are no such things as ninja wolves in this century."

Sakura seemed to visibly relax. Kakashi began fanning our fire out.

"Everyone go to sleep. We have more walking to do to get back to Konoha in time for our next mission." He said.

"But Kakashi!" I called. "How do you get a Ninja Wolf to bond with you?"

"Ninja wolves are said to have been pleasant animals. They were in love with the idea of peace and harmony but when ninja used them to kill each other, it's said to have created hatred and maliciousness in their hearts."

I glanced over to see Sasuke watching Kakashi also.

"So, it's said, the sole way to bond with a ninja wolf is to show them that your heart is full of true love and compassion." He said, then he fanned the fire harder. "Alright guys, that's a wrap."

I lay down flat on the sleeping bag and looked toward Sasuke. As the fire went out, I could see his dark eyes shining back at me. We held each other's gaze until it was so dark, we could barely see each other's outlines anymore.

I closed my eyes, using Sasuke's scent to remind me that I wasn't all alone in the darkness of the woods. Suddenly, it felt like the world expanded around me, instead of my body filling my small side of Sasuke's sleeping bag, it felt like my presence encompassed the entire world...

"Hey..."

Sasuke was leaning over me. I blinked, strangely unbothered by his sudden appearance in my line of sight.

"Hi." I responded.

A wide grin stretched across his face. He shook me excitedly.

"Wanna play tag?" he asked.

I sat up abruptly, almost head-butting him in the process.

"Hell yeah!" I exclaimed.

We jumped out of the sleeping bag, hopping over Kakashi and Sakura who began to sink in their bags into the ground, which was changing. The ground dipped and stretched up toward the stars all over the place and we ran, ducking under the newly created bridges, and sliding down into the holes.

"You'll never catch me!" I shouted to him, speeding up.

I was running. Running toward what looked like the end of the world, down a dark, winding path, and then, strangely. I came to a split road. I bounced on my heels, eager to get on with my game but I wasn't sure which way to go. I leaned left, looking toward what looked like an enormous playground. I could see Sakura there, and Shikamaru, and the rest of the guys there, running around gigantic swings and more grass slides and swinging on vines. Over there, they looked a lot younger than we were... Like seven or eight year olds. But then to the right, there was Sasuke. He was yelling something at me, beckoning me. There was nothing but darkness surrounding him. I darted for him, remembering our game.

"You loser! If you're over there, how are you catching _me_!?" I called.

The darkness opened up the closer I got to him and I saw that he was standing at the edge of a cliff. He jumped off and I sped up instead of slowing down as I got to the cliff, and without a second thought, I jumped off. The world exploded around me, filled with the brightest colors I've ever seen in my life. I extended my arms, free-falling, feeling like I could fly.

Then, almost the same way rain plops on someone's forehead from the sky, I plopped into Sasuke's arms.

"Caught you." He said.

I grinned, shoving him playfully. He stumbled and fell into the tall, golden colored grass surrounding us. It was comfortable. And it was warm. And there were no words as he bent down, pressing his lips to mine and softly caressing my chest which was suddenly bare. It was like every bone in my body was melting, swirling into a warm, slippery liquid that pooled in my clothes as the white, hot sun beat down on my face...

_It's...bright..._

I opened my eyes. The sun rays poured down through the leafy canopy above us. It seemed I had rolled onto my back sometime during the night. I rubbed my eyes and slowly registered an abnormal feeling...

_Huh? _

I sat up and looked down at my orange pants.

_Uhhh..._

There was a dark stain. I blinked the sunlight out of my eyes trying to gather my morning thoughts.

_I couldn't have..._

I slowly reached down and pulled the waistband of my pants up.

_It doesn't look like that though... This is... Completely different..._

"What are you doing?"

I pulled my hand away and turned to Sasuke who was slowly sitting up next to me.

"N-Nothing." I stammered.

He looked down at my pants.

"Did you-"

"No, I swear!" I said raising my hands in surrender. "I didn't!"

"Then what _is_ that?" he asked.

_It's...whitish. _

"What is what?"

We both whirled around. Kakashi stood behind us with his head cocked.

"It's nothing." I said quickly, throwing my hands down over the front of my pants.

Sasuke turned away from both of us and remained quiet.

Kakashi cocked his head, giving me a knowing look. Somehow, I could feel like he knew what was happening without me even saying it. I sighed and retracted my hands.

"It's not what you think it is." I said quickly.

But he didn't look surprised at all. He slid his hands into his pockets and regarded me calmly.

"How old are you, again?" he asked.

"Twelve." I told him.

He nodded at me thoughtfully.

"I guess it _is _about time for that... And neither of you have parents, huh?" he sighed. "Well... Looks like it's my responsibility."

We both looked up at him curiously.

"Come on." He said. "Down to the riverbank. And leave Sakura asleep, this is a boy thing."

_A boy thing?_

Sasuke and I exchanged glances and quickly got to our feet and followed him. Ten minutes later, we were standing by the river watching the sun rise over the horizon. There were a couple small boulders by the edge. We both sat on one.

"First, go wash your pants."

I stood up and began zipping my pants down.

"Do I have a disease?" I suddenly blurted out.

Kakashi struggled unsuccessfully to hold back a smile.

"No, luckily, it's normal."

"Really?!" I asked, pulling my bright green boxer briefs off, too.

He nodded.

"Can you put some clothes on?" Sasuke mumbled, purposefully directing his eyes away from my half-naked body.

"Why are you looking at me anyway?!" I retorted.

I pulled my jacket off, tied it around my waist, and zipped it up so that it acted as a kind of skirt.

"Happy!?" I yelled at him.

He continued looking away with his arms crossed. After a couple of minutes of me washing my pants and underwear in silence, I hung them up on a tree behind us. Kakashi pulled his book down from his face the moment I sat on the boulder next to Sasuke.

"I'm going to make this as simple as possible." He began. "It's called a wet dream. It happens to everyone. But for younger boys, it happens a lot more frequently."

"Really? Even you?" I asked.

"When I was around your age, yes." He replied, scratching his head. "It's just something your body does to...restock your inventory."

There could've been a visible question mark over my head. I glanced at Sasuke. He also looked clueless. Kakashi sighed.

"The point is that you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Just bring a lot of clean underwear with you and be prepared to do a lot of washing." He summarized.

"Why is it called a wet dream if it has nothing to do with dreams?"

I looked at Sasuke, surprised he'd even asked a question. Kakashi slipped his hands into his pockets.

"Well... It actually does have something to do with dreams." He explained. "The dream you're having at the time is usually the catalyst. If your dream is...well, of adult content, then it's more likely to happen."

"Adult content? ...You mean like your books?" I asked.

He laughed awkwardly, moving the book from where it lay on his lap, behind his back.

"Yeah... I guess you could say that..." he said. "But more importantly, do you remember having a dream like that?"

My mind wandered back to the previous night. I never remembered my dreams completely. Most of the time, it was just the gist of the dream.

"Uhm... I think I was playing tag." I answered.

"Is that all?" Kakashi inquired.

I tried to think deeper. Playing tag with Sasuke was my favorite reoccurring dream. I had it all the time and the same thing always happened. I ran around and he chased me and then I got to a fork in the road and took the left path which led me to the playground where I spent the rest of the dream playing with all the guys...

But then, suddenly, I recalled how I was staring into Sasuke's eyes before the fire went out...

_Wait a second..._

And I remembered thinking about his smell before falling asleep.

_I...didn't take the left road this time..._

And then, just as suddenly, a couple of snippets of the dream came back to me.

_I was... I was... With...him?!_

"Well?" Kakashi asked.

I couldn't help it. I looked at Sasuke, then looked down, face burning with heat.

"I was... Uh... I..." I stammered.

_There's no way I can say that. No way in the world._

"On second thought, never mind... That was an intrusive question." Kakashi said, giving me a sympathetic look.

I could feel both of their eyes on me. I was certain my entire face was red by that point.

"Isn't there a way to stop it?" I blurted out.

"Well...yes but, I'm not sure if I should tell you guys _that_ much..." he muttered.

Sasuke scoffed.

"Just say it."

Sasuke hated not knowing things. But at that point, I wasn't sure if I even cared if he didn't tell me. I was still completely shocked at what my brain had done while I was sleeping. But what was really bothering me was something else... And every time I tried to think about what was really bothering me, I distracted myself.

"You can control it so that you make it come out when you want it to." He said.

My ears perked at that.

"How?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi avoided our eyes.

"Touch triggers it." He said simply.

_Huh?_

Sasuke seemed to be confused too but before he could open his mouth Kakashi was already walking up the bank.

"Enough questions for one day, let's go."

I was happy to find my underwear and pants dry on the tree limb. Sasuke sauntered past me with his hands in his pockets.

"Hey." He said.

I paused as I slipped my underwear underneath my jacket.

"What?" I asked, shoving my foot through a pant leg.

He seemed to be trying hard not to look at me.

"...What was your dream about?"

The intensity of my face strain came back immediately. I almost tripped over my pants.

"Uh... I..."

He abruptly turned to me.

"Well?"

"It was... Sa...kura." I muttered.

He squinted at me.

"Why are you lying?" he asked.

"How do you know I'm lying?" I asked defensively.

"It's all over your stupid red face." he pointed out.

"Shut-up! You don't even know anything about me."

"You're easier to read than an open book, idiot. It's clear you're hiding something."

"So what? It's none of your business!" I said, avoiding his eyes.

He shrugged and walked past me.

"Whatever."

I pulled my jacket from around my waist and clenched my fists. I couldn't help but feel anxious for some reason.

We were both on edge for the rest of the day. Neither of us would speak to Sakura or Kakashi and anytime we even glanced at each other, we were ready to kill each other. Kakashi was losing patience fast.

About fifty miles away from Konoha, we stopped at an Inn at a local town for dinner. The table was deathly quiet. I reached across it to pick up the salt shaker and knocked Sasuke's cup over on accident.

"Watch what you're doing!"

"You're the one who put your cup so close to me!"

"Because I didn't know you'd be dumb enough to knock it over!"

"Want to say that to my face, you bastard?!" I asked, getting out of my chair.

Sasuke stood up, too.

"I just did, stupid." He retorted.

I reached for him, anger prompting me to rip his face off but Kakashi was between us before I could even try.

"That's enough, guys." He said. "You two have been arguing all day. How do you _ever _expect to be admirable ninja if you can't even get along with your comrades?"

I looked up at him as he put the bill payment on the table.

"Because of the way you've been acting, you're leaving me no choice." He continued.

Sakura raised her eyebrows, looking just as confused as we did. Kakashi finally turned to us both.

"I've come to the conclusion that you two are going to argue until the world ends. But that doesn't mean we have to be forced to sit here and listen to it. So, Sakura and I will go home ahead of you and it'll be up to you two to rely on each other and get home safely."

"What?!" I exclaimed.

But Kakashi was already doing hand-signs.

"See you in Konoha." He said before they both disappeared into a swirl of leaves.

"How the hell did he just do that?!" I explained.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"He copied it. It's an instant transmission technique. But he can only do it with one other person."

He picked his backpack up off the floor and walked out of the inn. With nothing else to do, I picked up my bag and followed him. We walked side by side. I put my hands behind my head and tried to avoid looking at him. He had his hands stuffed into his pockets and looked at the ground.

_Is it really this hard to just say sorry and make-up?_

We left the town and by sunset were so far away the lights of the town could barely be seen on the horizon. I heard a wolf howl. It was getting dark. I nudged Sasuke.

"Maybe we should set up camp?"

"We can get home by tonight if we just keep walking."

"Kakashi said it's dangerous to walk at night, especially in the South Woods. You know that." I reminded him.

"Kakashi's not here." He muttered, continuing to walk.

"That's your problem, you know? You're such an asshole. He gave us rules for a reason."

"Since when do _you_ follow rules, anyway?"

"Since my_ life_ depends on it."

He rolled his eyes and smirked at me.

"You're just afraid of the dark."

My bottom lip curled up.

"Shut your stupid mouth, Sasuke."

"If you want to go to set up camp, fine go ahead, and I'll go home myself."

I stopped right in my tracks, mind taken over by anger.

"Fine." I said. "Go home alone then."

He continued walking and said nothing. I turned around and walked off the path into the trees.

_Need to find somewhere to lay down..._

But no meadow was coming into view. After it felt like I'd been walking for almost an hour, I paused by a tree and zipped my pants down.

_Geez... I'm gonna need to find a place before it gets dark._

An owl hooted over head. Other than the sound of low breathing and my pee hitting the tree bark, there wasn't much sound.

_Wait... Low breathing?_

Suddenly, my ears were straining to hear. There was definitely low, steady breathing nearby. A twig snapped. I whirled around and quickly zipped my pants back up.

"Sasuke? Is that you?"

The breathing seemed to get louder. My eyes squinted, peering into the dark forest surrounding me. I found my legs wouldn't move. My fingers trembled with the shakiness of fear.

"...Sasuke?" I called again.

I heard the creature before I saw it. Suddenly, my legs spun into action. I was running in the opposite direction, hopping over fallen logs, weaving around tree stumps and ducking under branches.

_It's a ninja wolf! _

The thing roared, feet padding along behind me. I felt like my legs couldn't go any faster but it was gaining on me. I could feel its hot breath on my heels. A panicked scream escaped my lips. A hole seemed to appear out of nowhere. It was a small one. One that snakes probably burrowed into. But it was large enough for me to trip over. I slammed into it, soared momentarily and then fell slam onto my face, eating dirt. The ninja wolf jumped. I ducked my head, already feeling the pain of being torn to pieces but then a whoosh of fire blasted overhead.

I raised my head. A pair of feet landed in front of me and someone grabbed the collar of my jacket.

"Get your ass up!" Sasuke ordered.

I didn't need to be told twice. I was running again. The wolf wasn't far off, I knew it wasn't. He yanked my collar again bringing me down onto the forest floor behind some bushes.

"Hey!" I shouted.

"Shhh!"

His hand clapped down over my mouth. He sat on top of me, keeping me on the ground with his body weight. I watched his dark eyes glance around furiously, his black hair hung in his face. Our chests were rising and falling with the prevalent fear of death. Right next to us, on the other side of the bushes, a pair of footsteps sounded. He lowered himself onto me, face inches from mine. We both looked toward the bushes, listening.

_Please walk by..._

The ninja wolf jumped up onto a branch and looked out into the trees beyond us. It was so close that its snout was hanging right over us. His body pressed onto mine. We both struggled to steady our breathing. But quickly, my concentration was being diluted. Something twitched in the front of my pants.

The ninja wolf still hung over head, poised, looking back and forth. I closed my eyes tightly trying to distract my thoughts. But quickly, I realized it was a losing battle.

_This isn't good... Sasuke is... He's too close to me!_

The rising sensation built up in my pants. I nudged him softly.

_He has to get off or..._

He wasn't budging. His face was right over mine. I tried to signal him to find away to get off me using my eyes but it wasn't going to work. The only thing in his eyes was the urgency of the situation. To my dismay, his closeness was sparking memories... Memories of the dream I'd had the night before. His hand over my mouth reminded me of the feeling of his lips...

_No! I have to concentrate! I can't think about this!_

I remained as still as I could. Only one muscle in my body moved, pushing out harder and harder egged on by my thoughts. To my shock, the wolf suddenly howled very loudly. It was a miracle neither of us made a sound. And then it jumped down and ran off. He remained where he was on top of me. Most likely staying on me for certainty. Slowly, I began to feel another thing pressing...pressing back into me. Sasuke pulled his hand back off my mouth.

"What the hell were you running for?"

"Huh?" I asked.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"That story last night that you wanted to hear so bad... You weren't even listening, were you?"

"You weren't either."

"I might've looked like I wasn't but I at least heard Kakashi explain the only way to escape a ninja wolf is to stay absolutely still. Ninja wolves are almost completely blind in the dark and in a forest as big as this our smells mix in with the regular forest smells. Sound is the only way they can find us."

"Ohhh."

_And I was running like a maniac._

While I was distracted, the other pressing feeling I felt before got harder. Sasuke was looking over the bushes, still making sure it was gone. But as that other feeling got harder, he suddenly stiffened, pulled himself up and sat against the tree trunk across from me. It was silent for a long time. Finally, I stood up. I interlocked my fingers behind my head and began walking back toward the direction we had run from.

"Where are you going?"

"I dropped my backpack when I was running, I'm going to go find it."

I heard Sasuke get to his feet and in seconds, he was walking next to me.

"You'll never find it in this darkness."

I sighed.

"Why is everything always negative with you?" I asked, frowning. "If you don't want to help just say so!"

"Oh, yeah? So you can get ripped to pieces?" he retorted.

I turned and crossed my arms.

"I don't need your stupid voice following me around everywhere! I'd rather be eaten!"

Suddenly, there was a sharp sound next to us. We both looked into the bushes to see two shinning pairs of ghostly green eyes glaring at us.

"Shit!" I managed to yell.

Sasuke grabbed my hand and before I could wrap my head around what was happening, my feet were pounding against the dirt. We whipped around the bushes and then onto the trail where I struggled to keep from tripping over my own feet. The wolves were faster on the trail, gaining speed quickly. My ears hurt from having them bark so close to me.

_Maybe it'd be best if we ran back into the forest! That way, the wolves wouldn't be able to catch up so quickly!_

I pulled Sasuke the other direction and into the leaves.

"What are you doing!?" he shouted.

I could still hear the growling and snarling behind us. The dirt from their front paws flicking up into my shoes. Among all that, I could hear the growing sound of rushing water.

_Didn't Kakashi say some rivers that connect to the Land of the Waves outline this area? This must be a cliff!_

An idea formed in my mind and as soon as it did, there was no turning back.

"Jump!" I yelled to Sasuke.

I jumped as high as I could grabbing a tree branch that jutted out over the side of a very steep cliff. Sasuke jumped up next to me, also grabbing the same branch. I looked down to see if they fell for our trick but the wolves didn't get their "ninja" name from nothing. They stood there at the edge of the cliff, circling the branch we were hanging onto, glaring up at us.

"Oh, good thinking, genius. Now we're going to die." Sasuke retorted, struggling to keep his feet out of their reach.

"Will you just shut up!?" I exclaimed.

"Well, what the hell was the purpose of going this way anyway?"

"I thought I could get them to fall off the cliff!"

"Yeah, and see how good _that_ turned out." He remarked.

"If we had continued going on that path, they would've caught up to us." I pointed out.

"No they wouldn't have. You just don't have any faith."

"Seriously?!" I exclaimed, incredulously. "_You're_ going on about faith?! You _never_ have faith in me! You don't even know the meaning of the word!"

"Because any time I do, something ridiculous like this happens!" he shouted back.

One of the wolves jumped up and bit for Sasuke's ankle which he yanked upward just in the nick of time. They were continuously barking and growling at us at that point. While the first one snapped and snarled at Sasuke, the other was struggling to climb up the tree base to get to me. Meanwhile, my arms were getting tired. I glanced over at the cliff edge. I couldn't see much over the side, only the soft sound of moving waters. Sasuke's eyes followed my direction. We both nodded at each other.

"On the count of three." He told me.

"Thr-." He began.

"Wait, I want to be the one to say one." I interrupted.

"'Tch, what the hell does it matter?"

"I want to say it!" I protested, nudging him with my knee.

He sighed dramatically.

"Three!" I declared gleefully.

"Two." He mumbled in irritation.

"One!" I exclaimed.

We both swung backwards and let our grasp on the tree branch slacken. We flew through the air, out over the edge, and then downward.

_I didn't realize how deep this was!_

A scream escaped my lips, a frightened, excited scream. I could feel Sasuke falling at the same speed next to me, his arms were flailing, but when his hand knocked into mine, he grasped it and held on. Then the next thing I knew, everything was cold and numb and pressing. The river sucked us in and five feet underneath the surface we tossed and turned and rolled around. It was difficult to keep my grip on his hand but I didn't let go. We both tangled together, fighting for the surface. A surface I was afraid would never come. I could see him inside the murky blue-green space we occupied. His mouth was open and he seemed to be screaming out at me with his arm extended, pointing. I squinted at him.

_...What?_

And then, very abruptly, there was a jarring, blunt blow and everything went dark.

**Sasuke**

By the time I could see a hint of a shore, I was exhausted. I used floating rotted wood and branches to try to force my way over to the bank. Sometimes, the wood I was using the pave the way would work against me. And having an unconscious body under my arm wasn't helping. I wasn't sure if I would be able to get there before my strength went out but I did. My hand grasped the sandy water and I pulled myself up further and further, dragging him along with me. When we were finally on the shore, I slapped him across the face as hard as I could.

"Wake up, you usuratonkachi."

And then, I shook his shoulders but he didn't move. I stared down at his cold, motionless body and couldn't process what my brain was telling me might be happening.

_He can't be..._

"Oi, Naruto!" I shouted.

_No way..._

He was still. I put my hands on his chest, searching for something...something...a pulse? A beating heart? Everything was silent, still. I continued to shake him.

"Naruto, this isn't funny." I told him.

My fingers were shaking as I gripped his orange jacket.

"Stop playing, dobe, I'm serious."

It could've been the darkness of the night, but it looked almost like his lips were turning blue.

_Please, just... Please..._

But I didn't know what I was pleading for. I pulled his arm, dragging him into my lap with trembling fingers. I looked down at his cold, expressionless face as I hugged him to my chest. My eyes grazed over his face and then, even slower, his lips.

_There's no medical ninja around but perhaps..._

I looked all around, the water washed up on the shore next to us silently. I turned my eyes back to him slowly

_But I can't...can I? I could never..._

But the more time passed, the more appealing the idea got. I licked my lips and tasted salt. An odd sensation shot through my veins. I glanced all around again, wiped my hands on my soaking shorts and bent my head.

_Why do I suddenly feel so apprehensive?_

My lips were inches from his.

_But it couldn't be because I actually _want_ to do this... Could it?_

But suddenly, just as my mouth pressed lightly to his, a twig snapped next to me. I jumped backwards as two ninja wolves, the same two that chased us into the river, came out from the waves of the beach and made their way up the bank and toward us.

_This can't be happening. _

My chakra was almost completely depleted from all the swimming. I only had enough for a simple fire ball jutsu, but even that wouldn't be large enough to engulf them both. I grasped Naruto's body and hugged him tighter.

"Stay away from us." I ordered.

But the wolf ignored my plea, its eyes were steady on Naruto. Very abruptly, one of the wolves rose its nose to the moon and howled a long, sorrowful moan. Then, before I could even react, it put both paws on Naruto's chest. The other wolf came over to me and moaned the same way, then it put its paw on my shoulder which had gotten a large gash on it from some of the rotted wood in the water. I didn't even need my Sharingan. I could feel the healing effects directly.

"You ninja wolves have Medical Ninjutsu prowess?" I asked, not being able to hide my astonishment.

The wolf licked my cheek in response.

_No wonder they were so coveted..._

After a moment, Naruto turned over and coughed out more than a cup of water. His wolf continued to press its hands to his chest, prompting him to cough the rest of it out. I let him roll off of my lap as he gasped for air wearily. He slowly looked up at the wolf next to him in surprise then turned to me, with his eyebrows up.

"What did I miss?"

"The wolves have healing powers." I said simply.

He sat up, rubbing his chest sorely and watched as the two wolves reconnected and began biting on each other's ears affectionately.

"No, I mean, why aren't they trying to kill us?"

I had slowly been forming a hypothesis without even realizing it.

"Kakashi said they became resentful toward ninja after they were used for our wars. They seem to grow off of our inherent emotions. When we're spiteful and angry, then they'll reflect that. The same thing must be true for love and affection. This must be the 'bonding' example Kakashi was talking about."

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed. "He said they bond with ninja who show compassion."

Then he raised an eyebrow.

"But wait, what did you do to show compassion toward me?"

I turned my head.

"Nothing." I said, trying to shake off the growing warmth in my face.

"You're lying!" he accused.

"How the hell would _you_ know? You were knocked out cold!"

"It's written all over your stupid red face!" he said, mocking what I'd said to him before.

"Shut up! I didn't do anything!" I retorted.

"Why don't you bet that on your life? You bastard liar!"

"You're a liar, too! You were lying before!"

The wolves were on their feet, circling us attentively. Naruto edged closer to me.

"Stop fighting, idiot, or else we're screwed." I told him.

He looked down at his hands.

"But I guess... All this... It's my fault." He sighed, beginning to rub his hands together. "It's all because I lied to you first, right?"

He was quiet for a moment. The expression on his face looked like he was fighting with himself and then he finally looked up at me.

"It was you."

We looked at each other. Even the wolves seemed to take a moment of silence.

"The dream..." he clarified, rubbing his hands together faster. "It was about _you_."

I immediately turned my eyes to the ground.

_I knew that already... You didn't have to go out and _say_ it._

"It's not like I did it on purpose or anything." he added, turning red again. "I just... I..."

"Whatever." I said quickly. "Let's just forget about it."

By that point, we were both looking opposite directions. One of the wolves came into my line of view and glared at me. Somehow, I felt like it could read my mind.

_The truth is... I'm not annoyed that he was having that kind of dream about me. Actually, I'm..._

"Sasuke." He suddenly spoke up.

"What?"

"These ninja wolves are creeping me out."

"Yeah, me too."

Very abruptly, Naruto stood up. I turned.

"Where are you going?"

He avoided my eyes but motioned for me to follow. I reluctantly got to my feet and followed him farther up the beach and into the trees. The wolves stayed where they were near the water, watching us carefully. As soon as we passed the first couple of trees, he grabbed my arm.

"Hey!"

He pinned me against the tree trunk.

"Just relax, okay?" he said.

I felt his hand grasping my waistband. I jumped and grabbed his wrist.

"What are doing?!" I exclaimed.

"Remember when Kakashi said we could stop my dream by touching?" he asked. "I want to try it!"

"Then try it by yourself!" I yelled.

Naruto's gaze was directed over my head. I turned to see the wolves' ears perking up. Taking advantage of my moment of inattentiveness, Naruto succeeded in zipping down my shorts.

"You were hard before, so we can do it together." He said.

I felt the heat rushing to my face again.

_Dammit, he felt that?_

"I don't know what you're talking about." I said through gritted teeth.

"When you were sitting on me to keep me quiet, I felt it pressing into me." He protested.

"_You_ were hard first!" I said, trying to push him away. "My body just reacted to yours!"

He smirked.

"So, you admit it then?" he asked, gleefully.

I moved to hit him but before I could, his hand slid into my shorts and grasped me. I gasped, shuddering uncontrollably.

"I swear, I'll kill you if you don't-"

"I like it." He interrupted.

I paused. We stared at each other. I could hear the wolves playfully rolling around with each other in the sand. He looked at me in a weak, shameful kind of way.

"The dream... I...feel like I want it to happen again." He confessed.

Even in the moonlight, I could see his face getting redder. My face mirrored his.

"Do you think I'm weird for wanting that?" he whispered.

_...No. Because, I... I want..._

I could feel a twinge shoot through my body.

"Wait, you're..." he said, looking at me incredulously. "You're getting hard again."

I gritted my teeth, willing the lower half of my body to relax.

"Why do you always have to say such embarrassing things?" I muttered.

He caressed me there causing my legs to tremble.

_Could it be possible that... I want it, too?_

He shifted around to my back and pushed me against the tree trunk.

"Just...hold...on." he told me, hugging me from behind.

He grabbed onto the stiff protrusion, pulling back and forth on it rapidly. I leaned back against him, taking deep shaky breaths.

"N-Naruto..."

"I'm going to go faster."

I put both hands on the tree in front of me, bracing myself. He rocked against me, hand stroking me consistently. The surrounding heat pressed down on me.

_I shouldn't be letting this happen..._

I could feel him getting harder against me.

_But I am..._

I closed my eyes, giving myself up to the intense feeling. That deep intense feeling... It increased. I pressed my lips together, struggling to remain silent but a second before it happened, I knew I couldn't contain the feeling rising inside me. Something was leaking out, his fingers were wet with the stuff, making it easier for him to stroke me. My lips parted.

"Ahhhh, Naruto!"

Naruto hugged me harder from behind, shuddering. A whitish, clear liquid spurt out and hit the tree trunk in front of me. We both breathed heavily. Naruto stepped from behind me and stared at what I did.

"It worked." he said, surprised.

"You... You tried this not knowing?" I asked, trying to rein in my breathing.

He smiled at me.

"Well, it felt really good, so I figured I was on the right track." He said, interlocking his hands behind his head. "Didn't it feel good to you?"

I wanted to lie again but somehow, I couldn't bring myself to continue our relationship the same way it had been. I stepped toward him and grabbed the front of his pants.

"It's your turn now." I said.

"Wa-Wa-Wait." He told me, trying to back up.

He knocked into a tree, steadying him long enough for me to grab his zipper.

"What?" I asked, zipping down his pants.

"I...I..."

After I pulled his pants down, I saw what he was trying to say. The front of his boxers were wet.

"Hearing you say my name like that... I couldn't help it. It just...happened." He whispered.

"BOYS!?" a voice exclaimed.

We both jumped a mile in the air. We both struggled to pull our pants up.

"Naruto? Sasuke?"

Kakashi stepped into the bushes and pushed a couple branches out of his face.

"What are you two doing in here?"

"Just about to set up camp." I responded quickly.

He looked at our faces carefully.

"Why do you look so flustered?"

"That's because we were trying to-"

I nudged Naruto sharply.

"Practicing." I interrupted. "Just practicing."

Naruto nodded along vigorously, realizing lying was the best course of action.

Kakashi stared at us. We stared back. Everywhere, in that vast forest, animals probably paused in the normal activities to add to our awkward silence.

But then...

Kakashi shrugged.

"I was never planning to leave you two alone for the entire night." He revealed to us. "Just long enough to force you two to get along. And it seems like it worked. You two look like you were about to get pretty close."

He gave us a knowing look and then smiled jokingly. We avoided each other's eyes.

"Well, come on. Let's head home."

We both nodded. As we left the trees with him, Naruto looked around fervently.

"Where did the wolves go?" he asked.

"Wolves?" Kakashi repeated.

"Yeah! The ninja wolves showed up! The one from last night's story! But it wasn't a big deal because Sasuke and I bonded with them."

Kakashi paused and leaned down, looking deeply at Naruto's face.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Naruto pouted.

"I'm serious, tell him Sasuke!"

But before I could say anything, Kakashi touched Naruto's head who responded by cringing immediately and rubbing the spot sorely.

"Well, this explains it. You have a large gash on your head." He pointed out. "What happened?"

"We fell into the river." Naruto told him. "I just remember hitting it on something."

"It was a jagged log." I clarified.

"The best thing to do now is for you both to get to sleep as soon as possible." He said. "There's a mountain ridge up ahead that'll be safer than down here on the beach."

We followed him for about twenty minutes. All the way up back up the hill until we passed the spot that we'd fallen off the cliff from. After about ten minutes of walking from there, we got to a rocky overhang that overlooked a good part of the area that we were staying in. Naruto jumped up and down and pointed.

"I can see the Hokage Mountains' from here!"

"Yeah, see? We aren't that far." Kakashi said as he wrapped Naruto's head in bandages.

I spread out my sleeping bag on the ground and laid it flat, giving Naruto enough room to lie down next to me.

"Do we get another story about the ninja wolves tonight?" asked Naruto.

Kakashi sighed.

"I think it's best we let that old tale rest, don't you think?"

Naruto sighed and put his head down. Kakashi walked off, saying he was going to send a letter back to Konoha alerting Sakura that we were safe. I closed my eyes.

_There's no way that the story could've been a lie... I didn't hit my head and I saw them revive Naruto._

Something rustled next to us. My eyes popped open and I sat up. The same two wolves came from the bushes and made their way toward us. Naruto sat up also.

"Yes!" he exclaimed, pumping his fists. "I knew I wasn't crazy!"

One of the wolves came to him and licked his face, he laughed and hugged it. The other wolf came over to me and nuzzled my arm. I allowed it a small smile and stroked its fur kindly.

"Thank you." I told them.

Even though I didn't specify, I felt like they knew exactly what I was thanking them for.

The wolves then curled up together and lay down on the rocky ground next to us. Naruto smiled at me.

"I guess this is another one of our secrets, right?" he asked.

I watched him play with the wolves rest and a feeling rose up inside me. A phrase popped up inside my head, one that I'd heard often but hadn't said in many years.

_I love you._

He grinned at the animals, thinking up names for them and asking them if they'd come visit us later. My hand inched toward his and slowly, I touched him. He turned to me, a warm breezed came by, lifting our hair up. He looked down at our hands and then cocked his head.

"For some reason, I feel like I want to..." he trailed off.

Everything in my head was yelling for me to let him go and roll over and go to sleep but I ignored it. I leaned into him and softly kissed him on the cheek then pulled back slightly. His eyes were wide as we stared at each other and then he leaned in further and kissed me on the lips. I jolted with the feeling of the kiss, moving my hand into his hair and pulling his head band off. His mouth slipped open, most likely on accident, and my tongue touched his. The feeling was so good, we kept our mouths open and our tongues reached out to greet each other. He leaned backward, pulling me down onto him and I came down without protest. And the campfire burned out... And the wolves made small sounds near us, sounds that dissipated into nothingness. And we continued... Rolling over together forever and ever...

**Naruto**

I blinked in the sunlight. Leaves were falling down from the trees around us onto me.

"Was it cold last night or something?"

I turned my head to the left and saw Kakashi looking down at me with a quizzical expression. I mirrored his expression until slowly, I felt a heavy pressure on the front of my body.

_Sasuke...?_

He was lying ontop of me, head positioned just under mine.

_When did he get on top of me?_

"Well, this punishment worked _wonders_ for your relationship, I guess." He said, grinning at me. "Come on, we're moving out in fifteen minutes."

_The last thing that happened before I went to sleep was Kakashi telling us that he was going to send a letter to Sakura, right? So, when did Sasuke get here?_

"Hey... Hey, Sasuke." I said.

_Did he move himself here while I was sleeping? And if he did... Why?_

He stirred. As he began to shift and move, I noticed the presence of heat on the front of my pants. He rolled off me and onto his back next to me on the sleeping bag we were sharing. I looked down at my pants.

_Another wet spot!?_

But the longer I stared at it, the more I realized something else.

_I don't feel wet though... Not inside._

I lifted my pants momentarily to check my underwear and confirmed it. It was dry. My eyes, with no other option left, slowly traveled to Sasuke as he sat up.

He stared down at his own shorts with an unreadable expression. The wet spot on his shorts was much larger and darker than mine.

"Sasuke...?"

A deep red blush began to spread out over the tops of his ears. He looked up at me and his expression made me feel flustered. He was looking at me with the most innocently shameful look I've ever seen anyone make in their lives. His lips moved slightly as I watched him and in a small voice, barely above a whisper, he said...

"I'm...sorry."

_I love you._

I wanted to say that. I felt it in my bones, my blood, my brain... Every single cell in my body rang out, singing those joyful three words, but my tongue held it back. Instead, my hand moved forward, grabbing his.

"Come on." I said, as the red on his ears covered his cheeks, too. "Let's go to the river."


	2. The Picture

Behind the Text (My Thoughts While Writing): I had a pretty simple thought process with this. I just wanted to write Naruto doing something weird and closet pervert like and Sasuke catching him. Somehow, it morphed into this whole thing surrounding a picture and a camera and Sakura's birthday. I don't know why. Hahaha.

**The Picture**

"Sakura, come on! Please?" I pleaded.

"No! I'm not letting you have it!"

"I just want to try it!"

"No, it's my birthday present!"

I crossed my arms and sighed. Sakura was always being so stubborn! I watched her turn abruptly away from me and face Sasuke who was trying to shake the water out of his ears.

We had a mission in the Land of the Waves, a really simple one, just trying to gather the materials for some old woman's tea shop. The entire place was surrounded by water. After we found all the materials we could for that day, Kakashi Sensei let us go to the beach as a treat for Sakura's birthday.

Kakashi sat under a tree on the bank watching us all crowd on the edge of a cliff 40 meters right above the watery depths of a lake. Sasuke was being boring, like usual.

"Let's jump in from here!" I suggested, already shrugging out of my jacket.

Sakura grinned, reaching for the bottom of her dress to pull it off.

"No." Sasuke muttered, crossing his arms. "We should finish everything up today so we can go home instead of wasting time playing."

I frowned at him...then smiled. His proximity to the edge of the cliff...

_It's not my fault... He's such an easy target to prank!_

I dove for him and tackled him, wrapping my arms around his waist. Our feet left the edge of the cliff and we plunged down...

A large wave of water splashed up, over-taking us as we sunk down. A couple of seconds later, we both surfaced. I grinned at him mischievously.

"What were you saying?" I asked.

He shoved me and then dunked my head under.

"You idiot, you got my clothes wet!"

I made a face at him and splashed water in his face.

"Stop crying like a baby."

He splashed me back.

"_You're_ the baby!"

"Play nicely..." Kakashi called disinterestedly from the shore line.

"Hey guys! I'm coming down!"

I looked up to see Sakura, stomach exposed and shining brightly in the sun. The only thing she wore was her gray shorts and a pink cloth wrap around her chest. I blinked, eyes watering from staring too long at the beaming sun behind her but I couldn't take my eyes off her. Suddenly, a wave of water splashed into my face, clogging my nose and mouth. I coughed the water out and glared at the source who sneered at me.

"It's not my fault your mouth was wide open."

Before I could protest, Sakura jumped off the cliff, tucking her knees into her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. She splashed into the water next to us causing another wave to wash over. We were all swept to shore line where Sasuke promptly got out of the water and made his way up the bank.

"I want to go back to the inn." He said to Kakashi, putting his hands on his hips.

I glanced to the left, noticing a little girl holding a present and running toward us from the forest beyond.

"Sakura neechan!" the girl yelled.

Sakura turned, smile stretching across her face.

"Oh hi, Suki-chan!"

Suki-chan stopped right in front of her and held out the present to her.

"Nanami-san wanted me to give this to you as a thank you for helping her run the tea shop today." Suki said. "It's your birthday present."

And then I remembered.

_Oh yeah... Today is Sakura's thirteenth birthday._

I stood up and made my way over to her as she took the gift and unwrapped it.

"It's...a camera." Sakura said, eyes wide.

"A brand new one that a traveler has just given us! Nanami said you'd have more use for it than she does, since you go so many places."

Sakura bent down and hugged the girl.

"Tell her I'm so thankful!"

"Okay!"

The girl turned and ran off as Sakura cocked her head, tilting the thing in her hands.

"How does this work anyway..." she muttered.

I grabbed it from her.

"I can show you."

"Naruto! It's my present, give it back!"

"I am! Just wait, let me show you!"

I held the lens up at eye level and then turned it around to the back. I quickly scoped out the area for something to take a picture of and focused on Sasuke, who had just taken his shirt off and hung it on the branch next to where Kakashi sat.

"Say cheese, baka-suke!"

I snapped the picture and raised my eyebrows as the camera began to make noises.

"What did you do?! Did you break it?" Sakura exclaimed.

"I-I..."

She reached for me, probably trying to get a hold of me so she could punch me but then the camera shuddered and pushed a photograph out. It wafted down to the sand and settled purposely between our feet.

After snatching the camera out of my hands, Sakura slowly bent down and picked it up.

"Is it some kind of jutsu?" I asked.

She turned the blackened picture over in her fingers and then, very oddly, began shaking it back and forth.

"I remember now." She said as she did it. "The lady that ran the tea shop had all different kinds of cameras that she liked to collect. But this one..."

Slowly, an image became apparent in the photo.

"This one is one that produces the picture right after you take it!" she exclaimed. "It kind of _is _like Ninjutsu!"

I raised my eyebrows as the picture I'd just taken of Sasuke began to show up.

"Whoa." I whispered, reaching for the camera again.

She backed up pulling away from me.

"Sakura, come on! Please?" I pleaded.

"No! I'm not letting you have it!"

"I just want to try it!"

"No, it's my birthday present!"

I sighed, kicking my feet in the sand as she walked further up shore, showing the camera to Kakashi who was sitting back against a tree in the shade, with his book in front of his face. I pulled my shirt off and immediately felt the sun beating hotly on my back as Sasuke trudged past me.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to the inn to dry my clothes."

"If you just stay in the sun, they'll air dry!" I called.

"Not interested." He muttered.

I frowned watching him walk up the bank and toward our housing.

_Such show-off..._

"Hey, Naruto!"

I turned watching as Sakura shook her long pink hair out. When she whipped it up, the water sprayed around her in a circular motion creating a rainbow.

_So pretty..._

"If you can beat me in a swim race, I'll let you play with the camera!"

I grinned.

"You're on!"

We climbed back up to the top of the cliff and stood at the edge.

"Okay, first one to dive in, swim to shore, and get all the way to Kakashi wins." She said.

I looked around, noticing for the first time the trees looming over us on the edge.

"I've got a better idea!" I said. "Why don't I do something extra special for you since it's your birthday!?"

She took a step back.

"I don't want anything weird from you, Naruto."

"No, it's going to be a surprise. I can get it set up if you just wait by Kakashi, it'll be awesome, I promise."

She squinted at me, probably wondering whether or not to trust me and then shrugged.

"Fine..."

I turned around and sprinted back down the cliff side, almost injuring myself on the slippery rocks and darted past Kakashi and up toward the Inn. As I ran, something shimmered, catching my eye. I realized that the picture I had taken before had blown up the bank. As I rushed past, I leaned downward momentarily and swooped it up into my grasp. I ran into the place we were staying and up the stairs to the room I was supposed to be sharing with Sasuke, then I turned the knob and bolted into the room.

_Now... Where would rope be?_

I set the picture down on the bed and got to my hands and knees on the floor. Sasuke, Kakashi and I had been looking for the tools for Nanami-san's tea shop using an extra long rope to help us get down cliff sides and mountain edges. I had thrown it carelessly on my bed but knowing Sasuke who was such a neat-freak it'd be...

"Aha!"

I pulled the rope, which was wound around into a tight circular knot, from under one of the beds.

"Sakura's going to love me when she sees my idea..." I whispered.

And the moment those words left my lips, my eyes caught the picture on the bed. I picked it up, realizing it was finally done clearing.

Sasuke stood there with his left hand up on his hair. The sun shined brightly off of his bare chest and arms which were still dripping with the sea water and sparkling in the sun. My eyes zeroed in on his chest and I suddenly realized he was slightly more muscular than I was, his six pack had more definition and his arms were slightly more cut. I absent mindedly traced his chest with my finger, slowly allowing my eyes to travel up to his face which was frozen in perpetual surprise. Eyebrows lifted a couple centimeters, eyes open and innocent looking, mouth slightly open.

_Sasuke looks kind of..._

My finger slid upwards.

_Kind of..._

I traced his lips.

_Cute._

The moment I let that thought slip past me, my conscious mind tried to reject it.

_Wait, no. That's..._

But I couldn't do it successfully.

_Isn't that weird?_

Something twitched in my pants. It was a different sensation. Something I'd never felt before. I set the picture back down on the bed in front of me and scratched my bare chest. The more I looked at the picture, the more intense it got.

I slowly lifted my hands and unbuttoned my pants. Even more slower, I pulled the zipper down. There, sticking out through the flap of my boxer briefs, was the cause of all the feeling. My fingers curled around it curiously and then...

_This feels kind of good._

I picked the picture back up off the bed.

_And when I look at the picture at the same time, it feels even better..._

My heart rate sped up as I experimented with the connection between the sensation and the picture.

_But...why?_

The door swung open. I immediately swung around and put both hands over my crotch.

Sasuke stood in the doorway staring at me.

"What-"

"I wasn't doing anything!" I exclaimed.

He squinted at me, eyes lowering to the picture on the floor which I had accidently dropped in my quest to zip my pants back up.

"What's that?" he asked.

"It's nothing."

He walked toward me, bare chested just like I was, and attempted to reach for the picture. I fell backwards onto the bed trying to keep myself away from him but he swiftly stole it from my finger tips.

_Dammit!_

He stared at the picture while I pushed against him, feet slapping against the wooden floor trying to take it back but he was taller than me. In my close proximity to him, I couldn't help but look down at his chest again. I felt eager to touch him for real...and not just a photo.

"What the hell were you doing with this?" he asked me accusingly.

I blushed hard but glared at him.

"What the hell _could_ I have been doing?" I asked.

He rolled his eyes at me and backed away.

"Whatever... I just realized I don't want to know."

I balled my fists not appreciating his tone.

"Shut up, you bastard."

He flicked the picture at me which hit my chest and then sailed to the floor. He walked back toward the door with his hands in his pockets and pulled it open. He paused in the doorway momentarily, with his back to me.

"Naruto..." he said quietly. "Why didn't you think to take a picture of Sakura instead?"

My heart hiccupped in my chest.

_Uh... I... Don't know._

But all that came out of my mouth was-

"...Huh?"

He glanced at me over his shoulder and the expression he had on his face brought the intensity back to that area behind my zipper. His eyes were the way they were in the picture, open and honest, in a surprised kind of way. He closed his eyes and turned from me, shrugging.

"Never mind." He said. "I forgot you were an idiot."

The door slammed behind him. I slowly picked the picture back up off of the floor and slid it under my pillow. I returned to the cliff where Sakura was still waiting with the rope in hand.

"You had me waiting all this time for a rope?!" she asked.

I smiled at her.

"Just wait!"

I tied the rope to the sturdiest part of the tree branch that loomed over us creating a rope swing right over the cliff edge. I grabbed the end of the rope and handed it to her.

"Now, jump off and hold on and when you swing all the way out, let go." I told her.

She cocked her head, unsure of how much fun it could actually be. Sasuke had been standing on the cliff edge too, watching me as I put the rope up.

"Don't be scared, trust me."

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I'm not scared." She protested.

But I could see her hands shaking as she walked up. She gripped the rope and I put my hands over hers.

"Happy Birthday, Sakura."

She stuck her tongue out at me.

"This better be good..."

I lowered my hands to her hips, pulling her backwards, and then pushed her off of the edge. She held on, swinging out about seven feet away from us and then when she got all the way out she let go, falling all the way to the water, legs flailing, arms pin wheeling and screaming all the way down. I bent down, watching as she resurfaced and grinned up at me.

"That was so fun!" she shouted. "Thank you, Naruto!"

I scratched my hair bashfully and gave her a thumbs up. Sasuke uncrossed his arms and sighed, coming up behind me. It was getting late. Kakashi was waving at us from the shore.

"Alright guys, let's go or we'll never get enough rest for tomorrow."

I turned to Sasuke.

"Why are you in such a bad mood anyway?" I accused. "Is it because Sakura's older than you now?"

He gave me a dull look, like I was the stupidest person on Earth.

"Why would that put me in a bad mood?" He asked. "Besides, she's older than you, too."

I shrugged.

"Everyone in our year is older than me." I said glancing over the edge. "Anyway, are you going to jump down or not?"

I held my hand out to him, palm up and smiled.

"Stop being a baby and come on."

He crossed his arms, frowning at me.

"I'm not going to be tested." He said, walking up to the edge. "Especially by someone like you."

But he placed his hand in mine as he came up beside me and as he did I recalled the excitement I'd felt before.

"Wait, wait! Stay! I want to take a picture!" a voice called.

Sakura placed the camera in front of her face from the beachside. I turned to Sasuke whose eyes were shinning a lighter onyx from the pink and lavender sky of sunset. He was looking down at the fifty foot drop off the cliff in front of us. I smirked at him.

"You're scared, aren't you?" I asked.

I expected him to roll his eyes or say something snide but he didn't. He blinked down at the water, saying nothing.

"Okay, I got it! Go!" Sakura exclaimed.

Suddenly, Sasuke let go of my hand and before I could do anything, he shoved me backwards, my feet kicked up swinging into my line of sight and propelling me down onto my back. I sailed over the edge of the cliff with my eyes on one thing. His smirk as he watched me fall.

"That's for earlier, usuratonkachi!" he called.

My back hit the water, the waves came up over me dragging me down to the bottom of the lake and the entire time I could only think one thing...

"_Why didn't you think to take a picture of Sakura instead?"_

_...Should I have? _


End file.
